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Right, because everything was so much better when you could, for no particularly good reason, relate money to a marginally useful-to-jewellers-and-dentists soft

Right, because everything was so much better when you could, for no particularly good reason, relate money to a marginally useful-to-jewellers-and-dentists soft metal. I suppose I shouldn't expect economic literacy on Hacker News, but the twist on the standard goldbug narrative ("social credit backed by surveillance") is at least original, if nutty.

5822130027 7y ago
Gold's uselessness / rarity is what makes it perfect as money. The dollars you hold in your wallet are not even useful as toilet paper. Its sole use is to store value - just like gold. Gold standard created the first motor, railway, steamships. More importantly, wages kept up with productivity, in fact as soon as you decoupled gold from money, wages stagnated.
std_throwaway 7y ago
I did not say that gold backed currency is better for everybody. I'm just amazed at the time span over which the dilution is happening. And I don't think that anybody can deny that our money is slowly losing its purchasing power.
- fjp 7y ago
  it is slowly losing purchasing power. That's called inflation and nobody denies it or is surprised by it. In fact what people are generally surprised about is how little inflation is has occurred in the USA compared to how much money has been pumped into the system via QE.
- glangdale 7y ago
  Mainstream economic opinion is not particularly concerned by the fact that our money is slowly losing its purchasing power. There's a general consensus that a small amount of inflation is useful, although the reasons are pretty cynical (i.e. wage flexibility -> "it's easier to give someone a 0% raise under conditions of 2% inflation than it is to give someone of -2% pay cut under conditions of 0% inflation"). You might make the argument that making it psychologically easier for employers to hand out small 'in-real-terms' pay cuts is wrong in itself, of course, but that's another discussion.
turk73 7y ago
It's not nutty to point out that the dollar is presently only worth $.05 what it was in the year the Federal Reserve came into being.

5822130027 7y ago

Gold's uselessness / rarity is what makes it perfect as money. The dollars you hold in your wallet are not even useful as toilet paper. Its sole use is to store value - just like gold. Gold standard created the first motor, railway, steamships. More importantly, wages kept up with productivity, in fact as soon as you decoupled gold from money, wages stagnated.

std_throwaway 7y ago

I did not say that gold backed currency is better for everybody. I'm just amazed at the time span over which the dilution is happening. And I don't think that anybody can deny that our money is slowly losing its purchasing power.

fjp 7y ago
it is slowly losing purchasing power. That's called inflation and nobody denies it or is surprised by it. In fact what people are generally surprised about is how little inflation is has occurred in the USA compared to how much money has been pumped into the system via QE.
glangdale 7y ago
Mainstream economic opinion is not particularly concerned by the fact that our money is slowly losing its purchasing power. There's a general consensus that a small amount of inflation is useful, although the reasons are pretty cynical (i.e. wage flexibility -> "it's easier to give someone a 0% raise under conditions of 2% inflation than it is to give someone of -2% pay cut under conditions of 0% inflation"). You might make the argument that making it psychologically easier for employers to hand out small 'in-real-terms' pay cuts is wrong in itself, of course, but that's another discussion.

turk73 7y ago

It's not nutty to point out that the dollar is presently only worth $.05 what it was in the year the Federal Reserve came into being.